702
THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 26TH AUGUST, 1882.
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from the base of the blade, in the lower leaves from 1-4 lines from the base. Panicles axillary and terminal 4-6 inches long, branches in the upper part for about of the length of the raceme with 3-5 sets of branches, dichotomously twice forked, each branchelet bearing, generally, three, but sometimes five flowers. Pedicles 1-3 lines long. Perianth tube 1 line long, segments I line long, yellowish green. Stamens and style same length, a little shorter than the segments, all perfect. Staminodia purplish, heart shaped, length of stamens. Glands whitish, length of stamens. Fruit very dark purple, elliptical, 5 lines long, 4 lines broad. The bark, leaves and incipient fruit-"buds" of commerce- taste strongly of cinnamon, the strongest taste being in the "buds," next the leaf peduncles, then the bark, and lastly the leaves. The older the bark, the more pungent the taste.
The above is the description of the only tree which cassia bark, "buds" or leaves of commerce in China, so far as could be ascertained from personal inspection and reports, are obtained from. All the trees seen in the districts of Taiwu, Loting, and Lukpo, and intermediate localities where cassia was grown in smaller quantities, were of this species, nor were there, apparently, distinct varieties of the species in cultivation. The cultivators and other natives were much interrogated as, to whether they knew, or had heard of any other tree which yielded the products under notice and the invariable reply was that there was no other kind. There is therefore, I think, no doubt but that writers who have named other kinds as cassia yielding trees of China have been mistaken or misinformed on the subject. One writer alludes to a tree in terms which partly correspond to the description of Machilus velutina, Champ., another tree belonging to Lauraceae and indigenous to South China. It is quite possible that this tree may have been supposed by a casual observer to yield cassia bark because it is sometimes grown in plantations intermixed with those of Cinnamomum Cassia. The trees are reared, planted, and treated in precisely the same manner as the cassia trees, but the bark is required for a very different use, viz., to supply a glutinous extract which is used to stick together powdered cassia bark and sandal-wood-Santalum album-to form the joss-sticks used for incense. Cinnamomum Burmanni El., which it has been supposed may probably yield "in part the cassia bark of the Canton market” does not, I feel sure, supply cassia bark to any extent. I did not see it anywhere cultivated, nor was it seen growing been cut as had the cassia trees; many natives were asked if it was ever used, but, with one exception, all denied that it afforded any cassia bark. The one exception was an old woman, who was cultivating a field of Indian corn close to a few small trees of Cinnamomum Burmanni, and who said that its bark was sometimes, but rarely, used to adulterate the true cassia bark.
wild in any but very small quantities, and these wild trees bore no signs of having
Cinnamomum Cassia was not met with anywhere in a wild state, nor could any native be found who knew where it did grow wild. Dr. E. BRETSCHNEIDER says in his "Notes on some Botanical- Questions" that Dr. THOREL states that it grows in a wild state in the forests of Cochin China, about 19° North Latitude.
III. LOCALITIES OF CULTIVATION,
and
There are three chief districts where the cassia is cultivated viz.-Taiwu, in lat. 23° 34′ N., long. 110° 18′ E., in the Kwangsi province; Lukpo in lat. 23° 6' N., and long. 112° 24' E; and Loting in lat. 22° 52′ N., and long. 111° 8' E., both in the Kwangtung province. These are the market towns of the districts but the cassia is cultivated over a large area of country stretching to considerable distances from the towns, the extent of which could not be ascertained owing to the unreliable accounts given by the different people questioned, who either had very vague notions of area, or were disinclined, as they usually are, to give information to foreigners.
Taiwu is about four or five miles from the West river and is reached by a pleasant walk leading over a plain, but the nearest cassia plantations are situated twenty-five or thirty miles further in a southern or south-westerly direction to which there is no communication by river. Taiwu is about 180 miles west of Canton. The Taiwu people said that the area of cultivation was not increasing,
The next most important, if not the most important, or at least tending in that direction, district is the Loting one, commencing at about eight or ten miles distant from the city of Loting. After leaving the West river about eighty miles of the Loting river-the Nam Kong-has to be traversed before reaching the city, and from there the distance to the plantations has to be accomplished overland. -(about 52,600 One of the largest cultivators said that in this district there were about 1,000,000 maus—
The cultivation English acres) under cultivation, and that the area was greatly extending every year. of cassia has been carried on here for only about twenty-five years, i. e., since the Tai Ping Rebellion, at which time, for the preservation of the plants and protection of them from destruction by the rebels, they were transferred from a district further south, at which it is reported the cultivation of cassia was abandoned when it was commenced at Loting.
The city
The next district is that of Lukpo which is much less important than the other two. of Lukpo is situated on the northern bank of the West river, and the plantations are situated at about 15 miles between the nearest one and the city.